Dark Side
by It's Fnicking Awesomeness
Summary: He was the reason for my nightmares and tears. He was the reason I had this huge scar on my face. He was the reason Nudge was dead. He was the cause of it all. Implied Niggy, FAX. Not a song-fic, just based on Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson. Review please!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Recently I got Kelly Clarkson's song "Dark Side", and I thought it'd make a really good one shot base. So, I wrote one. I typed for an hour and a half straight, so enjoy.**

I wiped my eyes shakily, looking everywhere except at Fang. To do that would be just too, too painful. Instead I tried to steel myself by staring above his dark head, glaring at a pipe on the wall. I tried to ignore the scrutiny of his eyes, tried to ignore his unspoken pleading, tried to ignore his handsomely increased features. I tried to ignore the trembling in his fingers and arms, a sign he wasn't quite in control of him body. I tried to ignore the way he was chained to the floor.

It had been six months since I had seen him, yet I couldn't bear to look at him. _He _was the reason for all my nightmares. _He _was the reason for all of my tears. _He_ was the reason I had a large scar down the left side of my face. _He_ was the reason Nudge was dead._ He_ was the reason Iggy had become nearly catatonic. He was the cause of it all. I closed my eyes as the memories- ones I had stored and locked away seemingly forever- replayed themselves.

_"Come on, Fang, we gotta get out of here before the alarm sounds!" I whisper-screamed at him. I was practically dragging a half-conscious Nudge along behind me while holding Angel, and Iggy was half carrying a limping Gazzy._

_ Fang shook his head, backing _away_ from us. "No, Max- you don't understand. I can't go… I b-belong here." Whispering, he shook his head again._

_ I stared at him in disbelief. "What the _hell _are you talking about? Get over her before I drag you by your precious hair!" I snarled._

_ "No, Max! You have to leave- NOW!" He yelled, backing further and further away from the exit. Then I noticed his trembling limbs- it looked like he was in one of those vibrating massage chairs._

_ "Fang…?" Trailing off, I stared in horrified fascination as a transformation overtook my best friend._

_ He threw his head back and shouted in agony as his bones started to twist and move in unnatural ways under his skin. His muscles writhed and contorted, looking likes snakes inside of him. He grew taller, his limbs stretched out, and he fell to his knees, cradling his head in his hands. His wings doubled in size, hair sprouted over every inch of his body, and ragged claws burst through his finger and toe tips._

_ And when he looked up, his eyes had turned from his normal deep, dark brown into a yellowish glow. And when he opened his mouth… he had rows and rows of sharp, predator-like teeth._

_I felt bile rise in my throat and tried to swallow it back down. Fang- an Eraser. One of our worst nightmares- bloodthirsty creatures who had spilt more of our blood than could ever be replaced- was what my right wing man had been turned in to._

_ I should've guessed. I should've known. Fang disappeared for an "operation" a week ago, while we were still trapped in the School. When he came back, he was different. Even quieter. More good looking (I thought it was my hormones speaking, but now I realize he was getting the Erasers' model good looks). He went for "training" a few times a day, and came back weak and shivering. _

_ "Fang… come on, let's go…." Voice quivering, I tried to overcome my sheer terror. Maybe I was just seeing things… like my Eraser reflection…._

_ My doubts were tragically crushed when Fang opened his mouth and uttered the single most terrible snarling sound I had ever heard in my short, hard life. I gasped, taking an automatic step back._

_ Eraser-Fang stood up slowly, flexing his limbs like he was testing them. He bared his teeth in another feral growl, and started towards our little group. Immediately, I dropped Nudge and Angel, and called, "Iggy! Drop Gazzy! Three kids- go, go, go! Iggy- to me! _Hurry!_" _

_ I nervously waited for Fang to pounce. He was just circling me, like a predator cornering its prey. I swallowed hard. How could I fight Fang? He was my best friend, maybe even more- I couldn't bring myself to hurt him._

_Just as Iggy reached me, Fang sprung forward. I twisted out of the way, hearing his claw snag on my ratty School uniform. Whirling around, we faced each other again. I was completely in over my head- _I can't do this! He's my friend!_ I thought hopelessly._

_ Just then, Fang's feral eyes flicked over to the right, to where the three younger kids were trying to get the door open with their diminished strength. Without warning, Fang turned and sprinted at them. "NO!" I screamed. His furry ears twitched, but he leapt right into their little huddle._

_ It seemed to go in slow motion. I screamed. Fang leapt. Iggy and I ran as fast as could. It wasn't fast enough. Gazzy- the most alert of the three- turned and saw the leaping beast. He jumped aside, bringing Angel with him. Nudge turned too slow- she was too weak. Fang's outstretched claws caught right in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock before closing forever. Scarlet burst through the air. Fang howled in victory. Gazzy pulled Angel across the room, bringing her behind Iggy and I. Iggy stopped running, going pale._

_Nudge. Dead. Gone. Never again would I hear her endless babble, never again hear her beg to dress me up like a life-size Barbie. It lit a fuse inside of me. This- this _creature_ wasn't the Fang I knew and loved. He was gone, and in his place was just another enemy to kill._

_ "Iggy- get the kids out of here. Go. GO!" I shouted, shoving him when he didn't move. As Angel and Gazzy tugged him away, I focused back on Fa- the Eraser._

_ He walked towards me, circling me as he did before. I never turned my back on him, and kept my fists up in a defensive position. This time, when he lunged, I was ready and bloodthirsty. I swung a high kick at his throat, only to have him catch it and twist it, spraining my left ankle. Hopping backwards, I aimed a dozen fast paced punches at his face. He twitched lightly, dodging each one. Scowling, I jumped up into a helicopter kick, except instead of kicking him, I punched him from above. This, too, he dodged, grabbing my hand and throwing me back on the ground._

_ As my breath painfully huffed out, I realized something- the monster still had Fang's memories. That meant he knew how I fought, and could block every move. I jumped up, resolved to change my tactics._

_ It was a long, hard fight where I got few hits in. He didn't get in too many, though he managed to dislocate my left shoulder and give me a huge cut down my left cheek. _

_ Eventually, just when I had surrendered to death by my once-best-friend, the attacks stopped. He stepped away, and he started shivering and twitching again. I shakily stood up, blinking blood out of my eye. Then, roaring in pain, the large black furred Eraser shrunk down, back into Fang._

_ I stood stock still, staring at him. I could see incredible hurt, anguish, confusion, pain, and what seemed to be self-hatred in his eyes. He took a step towards me, and I flinched back. His outstretched hand fell, and anguish became the primary emotion on his face. I shook my head quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay, and ran sobbing out the door._

_**GO LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UPDATES, NEW STORIES, POLLS, QUESTIONS, AND OTHER COOL STUFF!**_

His pale, agonized face had been seared into my memory for the last six months. I couldn't take it anymore, though. With Angel's nightly nightmares, Iggy's blank staring and silence, and Gazzy's obviously false and shaky brave face, I was going to go crazy. I needed to see Fang, to see how he was. To see if he was as bad as I had remembered.

"Max." It was the first word spoken in over five minutes. His voice was rusty, hoarse, and he grimaced in pain after he spoke. "You came back."

I nodded tersely. "I was… curious." I was glad I kept my voice from shaking.

There was a brief flash of pain in his eyes. "I-I missed you." I nodded again.

"So why are you chained up?" Avoiding the big issue, I asked one of the more innocent questions in my mind.

"Because I started turning against my 'peers'." He closed his eyes as a particularly violent spasm shook his body. Gasping, he said, "When I have… strong emotions, it's… difficult to control." He grit his teeth, he seemed to calm the shivers a little.

"What's it like?" I blurted. I gasped softly, covering my own mouth. Dangit- I wanted to play it cool!

_**There's a place that I know**_

_**It's not pretty there and few have ever gone**_

_**If I show it to you now**_

_**Will it make you run away?**_

He laughed humorlessly. "It's like… there's this dark place. Inside of my mind. It's definitely not pretty, and it's the easiest place to hide when my emotions get out of control. It sucks me in. If you knew how bad it was, you'd run away and never come back." He shuddered, although whether it was from him fighting the "dark place", or describing it, I couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I don't know what to do." Conflicting emotions battles in my head and heart. _He killed Nudge. He wasn't in control of himself. He almost killed you! He didn't choose this._

_**Or will you stay**_

_**Even if it hurts**_

_**Even if I try to push you out**_

_**Will you return?**_

"Max, please don't leave. I know it hurts you to see me like that. Even if what I did was terrible, please help me." he whispered. I honestly didn't know how to respond- Fang had never been this vulnerable sounding in his life.

_**And remind me who I really am**_

_**Please remind me who I really am**_

"Max, I need you to find myself. Without you, the dark place is too strong. With you, I can fight it. Please help me get back to myself." he continued.

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. "You killed Nudge." I stated. It was easiest to go on the offensive.

He nodded, eyes shiny. "I regret it every day. I-you know I never would have done it… if… if I hadn't…." Trailing off, he looked helplessly at me. I shook my head, grief for Nudge still all too fresh. I stared at the floor.

_**Everybody's got a dark side**_

_**Do you love me?**_

_**Can you love mine?**_

_**Nobody's a picture perfect**_

_**But we're worth it**_

_**You know that we're worth it**_

_**Will you love me?**_

_**Even with my dark side?**_

"Max. Everyone has their dark place. Mine's pretty bad, but nobody's perfect." Fang murmured.  
>"I-we've been so messed up over all of this, Fang. It's torn us apart." Tears were now streaming down my face, and I didn't lift it.<p>

"I have been, too. It's been bad. The sadness triggers the change also. I've been an Eraser for a week at a time sometimes." I heard a tremor run through his voice, and I looked back up at him.

___**Like a diamond**_

_**From black dust**_

_**It's hard to know**_

_**What can become**_

_**If you give up**_

_**So don't give up on me**_

_**Please remind me who I really am**_

__"You won't know what can happen if you don't try, Max. Try, Max- don't give up on me. Help me remember the real me. Couldn't you help me with my dark place?"

I let out a sob, trying to pull myself together. "You almost killed me. That's not my Fang- that's not you."

He swallowed hard. "I keep reliving that day, and I can't even tell you how badly I've beaten myself up over that." He stopped talking as another painful spasm wracked his body. "I'm sorry, Max." he hissed through his clenched teeth.

My tears had stopped, but I was no less conflicted than before.

_**Everybody's got a dark side**_

_**Do you love me?**_

_**Can you love mine?**_

_**Nobody's a picture perfect**_

_**But we're worth it**_

_**You know that we're worth it**_

_**Will you love me?**_

_**Even with my dark side?**_

"Sometimes a tough decision can be worth it, in the end. You know that from experience- bad things can turn out good. We can learn to live with this!" Pleading now, his eyes begged me.

"How do I know that you won't hurt us again the next time you get mad? I'm sorry, Fang, but I can't. I just can't. Goodbye…." I turned to walk away.

_****__**Don't run away**_

_**Don't run away**_

_**Just tell me that you will stay**_

_**Promise me you will stay**_

_**Don't run away**_

_**Don't run away**_

_**Just promise me you will stay**_

_**Promise me you will stay**__**  
><strong>__**will you love me? **_

His voice called out, a note of desperation in it. "Don't run away, Max! Please stay. Promise me. Don't leave me here. Please take me with you!"

_**Ooooooohhhhhhh**_

"How do I know I can trust you? I don't know what I'd do if you killed another family member." My words came out harsher than I'd meant. His head slumped down. "Fang, I'm just trying to protect my family." I said quietly.

_****__**Everybody's got a dark side**_

_**Do you love me?**_

_**Can you love mine?**_

_**Nobody's a picture perfect**_

_**But we're worth it**_

_**You know that we're worth it**_

_**Will you love me?**_

_**Even with my dark side?**__**  
><strong>_

"Max, everyone has their bad and dark places. Couldn't you love me anyway? Deal with my dark side? No one is wholly good. But in the end, it's worth it. You of all people know that life is worth living. Can you love me? Even with my darkness?"

Fang looked so forlorn, so scared, so repentant, so cold, so utterly helpless. How could I leave him here? Was I really that heartless? He was once my best friend- maybe even my soul mate. Friends- and family- forgive each other, and work together through their problems.

Fresh tears sprung to my eyes. "Okay." I whispered. His head shot up, and his eyes filled with hope. "Really?" he asked. I nodded, smiling a little.

"Let's get out of here." I said. But before I could bend down to pick the lock, Fang grabbed me, and pulled me tight against him in a huge hug. Then he bent down and kissed me hard, making my head spin.

"I love you, Max. Always have, always will. I'll never forgive myself for what I did, but as long as I hate you, I can fight the dark side of me." There was raw honesty in his voice, making him seem much older than fourteen.

"I love you, too." I said, picking the lock on his ankles. "Let's go home."

**A/N: There ya go- single longest one shot I've ever written. Please please review, I worked really hard on this. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Tumblr Blog!

Hello MR Fans! This is an announcement that I have created a Tumblr blog. Not just any Tumblr blog- a Maximum Ride role play group blog.

What this means is you can go on Tumblr, and message me as a MR character (or an OC- I don't care) and our characters can talk, interact, and have adventures and stuff.

I know it sounds kinda dumb, but trust me- it's not. I'm already part of an Avengers role play group, and it's so much fun writing as your favourite character while interacting with your other favourite characters.

For an example of an amazing role play group, go here (no spaces, obviously): kneel-to-your-king. tumblr

So, what I would like you guys to do, is go on Tumblr and create an account of a MR character (or make your own mutant, white coat, or whatever!) and then message and follow me at 'please-do-not-fang-bang' (I'm a Fang, hehe). Then send me an ask, and out characters will do stuff!

If you already have a Tumblr, you can still interact with me as that, or just make another one using a different email (I, for one, have three different accounts :3).

I have never seen anything like this for the Maximum Ride fandom, so I think it could be really big and could be so much fun! Thanks so much!


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